Hannah O’Neill is a huge fan of Matthieu Blazy’s Chanel. The Paris Opera Ballet étoile dancer had a rave review to share after attending the designer’s AW26 show last week: ‘Honestly, everything that I’ve seen down the défilé [catwalk], I just want to wear everything!,’ she told ELLE UK. ‘It’s very fun, it’s very elegant, very cool.’
Tokyo-born, Auckland-raised O’Neill is a big fashion lover, gravitating towards classic silhouettes and timeless pieces with a twist. It little surprise then that the dancer has such a close relationship with Chanel, which has also been a long-time supporter of the Paris Opera. ‘My first experience with the house was when the maison made costumes for one of our pieces that we performed at the Opening Gala with the Paris Opera,’ she explained. ‘The tutus it made were absolutely gorgeous.’
This week, marked a particularly exciting milestone for O’Neill; hot off the heels of Paris Fashion Week, she made her debut with The Royal Ballet in London as Giselle in Sir Peter Wright’s production at The Royal Opera House, reuniting with Royal Ballet principle Reece Clarke after they danced together in Paris last October.
O’Neill, who described the opportunity as ‘a ballerina’s dream come true’, has had a busy schedule packed with rehearsals to prepare for her sold-out performances. But ahead of her final performance tonight, she found the time to catch up with ELLE UK. Read on to for a behind the scenes peek on O’Neill’s time with the Royal Ballet, her favourite London hotspots, and the inside scoop her Chanel wishlist.
On her Royal Opera House debut
‘I was invited by Kevin O’Hare, the director of the Royal Ballet, asking if I would like to come and dance Giselle. Obviously I couldn’t say no to that, it was a ballerina’s dream come true. It’s a real privilege and a real honour.
Giselle is my favourite ballet. It’s a very special ballet, it’s a very old ballet, but I feel like it just never ages. There’s something about it that feels emotionally and physically complete. I feel like I can express myself emotionally and with my body, to the max.
I actually had the honour to dance it in October with my partner that I’m dancing with here, Reece Clarke. It’s been really lovely coming to London and learning a new version.’
On preparing for a performance
‘I don’t really like to have too many rituals, I don’t like to be too superstitious. We have our usual hair and makeup, I do a warm up bar and and then I get my pointe shoes sorted out, and then I go back to my dressing room, I put my costume on and test a few things out on stage.’
On her favourite spots in London
‘I’ve pretty much just been rehearsing, so I haven’t had a lot of time to explore. But I love going to the flower market on a Sunday. I like to go and have a stroll there with my mum, it’s lovely looking at the flowers together and having a coffee somewhere near. I’ve been going to St John’s bakery, because I love jam doughnuts and they have excellent ones. Also, since it’s Easter and we don’t have them in Paris, I’ve been eating a lot of hot cross buns. There are so many lovely parks here as well, it’s very green. Sloane Square is very chic, I had lunch there with friends.’
On her first memory of Chanel
‘My mother, she always wears red lipstick, and she always had a Chanel red lipstick. So that’s how I as a child discovered Chanel. But my first experience with the house was when the maison made costumes for one of our pieces that we performed at the Opening Gala with the Paris Opera. The tutu they made were absolutely gorgeous. They were just so beautiful and so delicately made.
It’s a very special relationship for me. It makes me feel quite beautiful. I’ve always felt really comfortable in their in their clothes, and their in their costumes, and that’s something really important for me, to be able to feel myself, even if it dress up or to interpret a role. To feel comfortable in what you’re wearing is really essential I find. So I feel very much at home wearing Chanel.’
On Matthieu Blazy
‘I think that Matthieu is making the house very exciting. It’s a new path but at the same time you can feel there’s a lot of respect for the designers before him and for the house of Chanel as well. You can see he’s following the codes, but at the same time he’s trying to find his signature as well.
There are two jacket and skirt ensembles that I was lucky enough to see at the last défilé: one was a floral print jacket and skirt, which I think was really beautiful, and there was another jacket and skirt, which was like an orangey, burnt gold colour, which was very cool as well. I could have the occasion to try on those, I’d be very happy!
My [fashion] wish list is endless. But I was wearing black Chanel jacket for the shoot today with black and white flower trimming — it’s creeping up at the top of my list!’
On her personal style
‘I really love fashion, I like thinking about my clothes and I like to pick out what I want to wear, I have my own taste and have my likes and dislikes, but I wouldn’t say I take it too seriously. For me, I want to feel like myself, that’s really important. And always be comfortable.
I like to add a little quirk or some accessories to make it “me”. I’m quite simple and quite classic in the way I dress, but I like to have a pop of colour of something, or a fun accessory, little charms that I’ll put onto my bags or a hair accessory, a fun bag or fun shoes.
Someone that’s really inspired by love of fashion and clothes and la mode in general is my mum. She’s always very elegant and very well presented, but at the same time she’s very natural, and it’s very easy. I guess she’s passed that down.’
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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